Wendy and Lucy - discussion guide

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Summary

Wendy and Lucy is a quiet, sparse film about a woman whose life is teetering on the edge of disaster. It follows Wendy, played with heartbreaking vulnerability by Michelle Williams, as she attempts to travel north to find work in the Alaska fish canneries with nothing to her name but a car, a dog called Lucy and just enough money to complete the journey. When her car breaks down in Oregon, Wendy attempts to steal a few cans of dog food and is caught in the act. Taken into custody, she has to leave Lucy tied up outside the supermarket and on her return, having been forced to pay a $50 fine which she cannot afford, she finds that the dog has disappeared.

The plot becomes a ‘rat trap’ of frustrations and closed-down possibilities as Wendy discovers that her car cannot be fixed and has no success in her attempts to track down the missing Lucy. Reactions of cruelty, apathy or kindness from peripheral characters come to hold immense importance as Wendy battles to hold on to hope and dignity in a world to which she is all but invisible. She is trapped by circumstances which seem to be conspiring against her, in the impossible position of being unable to ‘get an address without an address, a job without a job.’ Struggling to connect meaningfully with human beings, Lucy is her only lifeline, and eventually her love for her dog leads her to make a painful sacrifice.

Background

Independent filmmaker Kelly Reichhardt directed Wendy and Lucy, co-writing the screenplay with Jon Raymond, on whose short story Train Choir the film is based. The two had collaborated previously on Old Joy, also based on one of Raymond’s short stories, a critically acclaimed 2006 film which starred Daniel London and Will Oldham. Wendy and Lucy premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and won as much acclaim as its predecessor, winning both Best Picture and Best Actress at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards, best actress at the Online Film Critics Society Awards, and an award for its director at the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.

Michelle Williams, though considered an A-list star, became interested in the small project through having seen Old Joy and talking to friends of Kelly Reichhardt’s. Reichardt was initially worried that Williams would be too recognisable and too pretty, distracting from the sense of Wendy’s invisibility, but Williams agreed not to wash her hair or shave her legs for two weeks during filming, even sleeping in her car for a few nights to get into character.

Questions for Discussion

1. We never find out the exact reason for Wendy’s circumstances. Did you find this frustrating, or are there ways in which it is helpful? Could you identify with her as a character?

2. What makes Lucy so valuable to Wendy? Why do you think that homeless people so often choose to have dogs as companions?

3. Have you ever experienced real material poverty? How do you think that your own financial position affects your perception of Wendy and her actions?

4. ‘The rules apply to everyone equally.’ Do you think the shop assistant’s reaction to Wendy is fair? Why or why not? Would you have stolen if you were in Wendy’s position?

5. Would you say that this is a political film? What statements are being made and what systems or attitudes are being criticised?

6. ‘They treat me like trash. Like I ain’t got no rights. They can smell the weakness on you.’ What characterises the ‘outcasts’ in the film, and how are they treated by society? How do they treat one another?

7. Director Kelly Reichardt says: ‘I don’t really have a plan for the audience, just questions. Like, are we related and do we owe each other anything? Are we supposed to take care of each other to any degree?’ Did you feel that the film challenged you personally on these issues? From your perspective of belief or non-belief in God, is there any ‘supposed to’ when it comes to caring for those on society’s margins?

8. Do you believe that all people have equal, objective dignity and worth, and if so, why? Can this dignity and worth be diminished or increased by human effort? Are your attitudes and actions towards others consistent with your answers?

9. In Leviticus 19:9-10, God instructs his people to care for the poor because of who he is and what he is like. Philippians 2:3-11 describes the humility that Jesus showed in coming to earth and living amongst the disadvantaged. The influence of God’s character ought to be the Christian’s motivation for selflessly doing good to others. What do you think of this idea?

10. Talking to the film’s director, one interviewer remarks that ‘when you think about some of these economic problems, so many of them seem to stem from people being in denial, and a general unwillingness to talk about how the way that we live has consequences.’ Do you think that this is true? What lessons is our culture currently learning about these ‘consequences’, and why is it such an uncomfortable issue?

11. Jesus talks about real love being self-sacrificial. Do you think that Wendy makes the right choice at the end of the film?

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